If there’s anything that Hollywood has made clear, it’s that there will always be a movie for everyone. It doesn’t matter whether we’re talking about action, horror, drama, or thrillers. There is more than enough to choose from. The same thing goes for anyone who considers themselves to be a history buff.
Throughout the years, we’ve seen filmmakers produce historically accurate movies, some of which even delved into ancient history. That said, there are also filmmakers who decided to practice more creative license, giving history their own cinematic twist. Just check out these 10 films to see what we mean.
Inglourious Basterds (2009)
In this unconventional war movie, Brad Pitt plays an allied officer who puts together a group of Jewish soldiers to go after the Nazis. According to the film’s writer and director, Quentin Tarantino, there was no intention for this movie to deviate from history initially. It just happened while he was “deep, deep, deep into writing it.” “It hit me. I thought, ‘Wait a minute: my characters don’t know they’re part of history,’” Tarantino told Rotten Tomatoes. “What happens in this movie didn’t happen in real life because my characters didn’t exist.” The movie is one of Tarantino’s most highly-rated films.
The Good Dinosaur (2015)
The 2015 Pixar movie is centered around a timid Apatosaurus dinosaur named Arlo who unexpectedly makes friends with a young man. In reality, dinosaurs and humans never co-existed so this movie pushes boundaries a bit. In addition, the movie also cleverly features some interesting Easter eggs, including one that seems to pay tribute to the movie Jaws. Although, director Peter Sohn told Slash Film, “If it is, it must be subconsciously out there.” Sadly, this animated movie received lukewarm reception. In fact, some even say that The Good Dinosaur was among the worst that Pixar has done over the years.
Watchmen (2009)
It’s almost a miracle that this 2009 movie got made considering it nearly got stuck in development for good. For Hollywood, there were too many superhero movies out there already.
Watchmen is an adaptation of a comic that was written by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. And in their imagined world, the U.S. won the Vietnam War and Richard Nixon stays in the White House.
300 (2006)
Snyder's 2006 movie reimagines the legend surrounding King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) of Sparta and how he and his 300 men laid down their lives to hold back the massive Persian army. In reality, it wasn’t just Leonidas and his men who made the famous last stand. Instead, there were other soldiers who bravely participated in the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC. According to reports, it is believed that there were nearly 7,000 Greek soldiers participating in the war initially. And even when Leonidas dismissed some of the soldiers later on, more than 300 of them still remained.
Wonder Woman (2017)
The 2017 film from the DC extended universe stars Gal Gadot as the titular superhero who is determined to kill Ares (David Thewlis) so that the war could finally end. The war that she’s referring to happens to be World War 1.
Along with her travel companions (which includes love interest Chris Pine’s Steve Trevor), Wonder Woman makes her way to the frontlines in the hopes of turning the tide. One of the most memorable scenes from the movie even shows the Amazonian princess crossing No Man’s Land amidst a hail of bullets.
White Man’s Burden (1995)
The 1995 film offers an alternative view of American society, in which the relations between Black and Whites in America are reversed. The story revolves around a White factory worker (John Travolta) who kidnaps a Black factory executive (Harry Belafonte) after he gets fired from the job. For the movie’s writer/director Desmond Nakano, the hope is that the movie will help delve into the issue of racism more effectively. “If a white audience watches a movie about discrimination against black characters, they know who they’re supposed to root for,” he told Los Angeles Times. “Whereas in this movie, the us and them is obliterated, so you can’t say that…”
Transformers: Dark Of Moon (2011)
Granted, the Transformers franchise has always been set in a fantasy world (our cars don’t turn into robots). That said, it took things one step further when it released the Dark of Moon. In fact, the movie has an interesting take on events surrounding the historic Apollo 11 moon landing. For the film’s director, Michael Bay, taking the storyline in that direction was a no-brainer. While speaking with Space.com, he pointed out, “The highest-grossing films of all time are science fiction movies and things that are in space.”
Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
If Wonder Woman found herself in the midst of World War 1, Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) transforms into a super-soldier around the time of World War 2. In this 2011 Marvel movie, it almost seems like Nazi Germany and HYDRA are one and Steve becomes determined to stop them for good. The problem is the military only viewed him as a propaganda mascot at first. But eventually, Steve finds himself in the frontlines, even freeing a large group of war prisoners at one point.
JFK (1991)
The 1991 thriller by Oliver Stone examines the Kennedy assassination through the eyes of New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison (portrayed by Kevin Costner). The movie ultimately asserts that there were more sinister forces at play than just a lone gunman when the tragic shooting occurred in public. However, there remains a lack of factual evidence supporting these claims. Nonetheless, when Stone was discussing the film with Roger Ebert, Stone explained, “My own conclusions go harder and further than the film.” Stone is exploring JFK’s death again in the upcoming documentary series JFK: Destiny Betrayed.
Once Upon A Time…In Hollywood (2019)
The 2019 Tarantino movie is set in 1969, the Golden Age of Hollywood. Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood may be centered around Leonardo DiCaprio’s Rick Dalton and Brad Pitt’s Cliff Booth. Nonetheless, the film’s storyline also includes the late actress Sharon Tate (portrayed by Margot Robbie), even presenting a sequence of events that was supposed to end in Tate’s brutal murder. However, in Tarantino’s world, that murder doesn’t occur. Instead, Charles Manson’s cult members are killed by Rick and Cliff after they broke into Rick’s home.